Fridae

Every time Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu appears on the big screen, one could almost detect a spike in heart rates and hear the sound of male and female undergarments dropping brazenly to the floor.

Apparently cornering the market in playing the perfect homosexual male that everyone covets, the dashing Daniel has played a to-die-for homosexual policeman in Bishonen (1998), a repressed homosexual in Night Corridor (2003) and now a gay triad leader in Enter The Phoenix (2004).

Directed and co-written by Stephen Fung, Enter The Phoenix takes the usual Hong Kong triad movie formula and gives it a kitsch twist by focusing on the trials and tribulations of an unwitting gay triad leader Georgie played by Daniel Wu.

The movie begins with the death of Hung, Georgie's father and "Big Brother" to the Red Honour triad, which led his right-hand man Uncle 8 (Law Kar Ying) and his son (Chapman To) to embark on a trip to seek out the heir apparent in Bangkok (where else?).

In the country of gay go-go bars, the hilarious father and son team mistake Georgie's straight roommate Sam (Eason Chan who also played a homosexual in 2000's (Lavender) for the former and assume the two men are a couple. Since Sam has a mafia-fixation and Georgie would rather make eyes at cute Caucasian men than break beer bottles and chase after rival triad gangs, the two of them decided to let the charade of mistaken identity carry on.

Back in Hong Kong, the audience is introduced to two other characters: Karen Mok who plays Julie, the daughter of a rival gang and aspiring insurance agent in vertigo-inducing heels; and Stephen Fung who plays Chow, the next-in-command for the same rival gang who harbors a deep hatred for the Red Honor triad ever since his father was killed "over a dinner bill" by a member of the aforementioned triad.

Throughout Enter The Phoenix, there are the requisite actions scenes with blazing bullets and gang fights as well as a predictable ending which features a face-off between Chow and Georgie which has the former stealing Keanu Reeves' moves in the Matrix trilogy and the latter mimicking Zhang Zhiyi's swordplay in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

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Then there is also the ubiquitous love triangle between Georgie, Sam and Julie: Julie falls for Georgie, Georgie remains faithful to his anonymous Thai boyfriend, Sam falls for Julie, and finally Julie and Sam falls for each other. Particularly noteworthy is lesbian icon Karen Mok's on-the-spot portrayal of a fag hag so deep in self-delusion that she even resorts to flagrant flirting and attempts to "convert" Georgie into a raging heterosexual by bringing him to a straight go-go bar (good luck girl!).

Being more of a feel-good action comedy, there are, of course, laughs aplenty - from Eason Chan who appears clad in outfits that make him look less like a triad leader and more like a cross between Puff Daddy and Missy Elliot and most notably, from the ultra-camp pairing of Law Kar Ying and Chapman To. Unfortunately, there are some jokes that leave a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of gay audience everywhere.

For instance, some of the movie's comedic moments introduce and reinforce gay stereotypes: Georgie is regarded as the "bitch" (read: bottom) in his relationship with Sam and deferred to as "sister-in-law" one too many times while a Red Honour triad member David wins the "Worst Caricature of a Homosexual" Award with his turn as the ravenous gay man and resident masseur who lusts after any homosexual and whose method of subduing a rival trial member is to strip and sodomise him.

Fortunately, all is not lost. In his first outing as director, Stephen Fung (laughable ponytail notwithstanding) shows great potential and courage by exploring the homoerotic undertones in the all-male world of triads where men depend on men, and by displaying a rare sensitivity in his portrayal of the father and son relationship between Hung and Georgie where fatherly affection ultimately proves to be stronger than homophobia.

For all its flaws, Enter The Phoenix stands out from the usual mass-produced inane Hong Kong movies with its refreshing gay-oriented theme and its positive portrayal of its gay protagonist.

And of course, any movie starring my favourite movie actor Daniel Wu (cue: screams and fainting spells) is well worth watching - even one in which he is given to eye rolling at every excuse and suffers from mild limp-wrist-gitis.